Junkyard Jackpot: BMW 2002, Corolla GT-S, Triumph Spitfire

By Murilee Martin, 12:00 PM on Sat Jul 18 2009, 16,834 views (Edit, to draft, Slurp)

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Just yards away from the now-much-picked-over junked Volvo Amazon, I stumbled across this incredible trifecta of junkyardy goodness at my local self-service yard. Three cars that each deserve the full Jalopnik Stamp-O-Approval™!

The one that caught my eye first was the very clean, automatic-equipped 1976 BMW 2002. The odometer reads just over 4,000 miles, which means it's either a very well-maintained 104,000-mile car or a 4,000-mile car that spent several decades moldering in a driveway somewhere. When I mentioned this car to 24 Hours Of LeMons Assistant Perpetrator Nick Pon, he had to rush right over to the yard to pull some pieces for his '76 2002.

Right next to the 2002 sits a fairly complete 1970 Triumph Spitfire. The engine and front suspension look pretty nice; a Spitfire Hell Project owner could definitely feast on this junkyard find!

That's not enough? Hey, there's something for you lovers of vintage Japanese machinery as well: a California-built 1988 Toyota Corolla GT-S. It's an automatic car, and the underhood sticker identifies the engine as a 4A-LC… but that sure looks like a 16-valve 4A to me.

Now let's see what the Server Hamsters do when I present them with these photos in our new gallery style. Fasten your seatbelts!